bench creaks
by so i tip toe
Summary: "Sometimes when you meet someone, there's a click. I don't believe in love at first sight but I believe in that click." – Ann Aguiire, Blue Diablo [Tetsuya x Riko]
1. Chapter 1

**title:** bench creaks

**summary: **"Sometimes when you meet someone, there's a click. I don't believe in love at first sight but _I believe in that click_." – Ann Aguiire, _Blue Diablo_[Tetsuya x Riko]

**notes:** okay so the manga just ended and i feel utterly betrayed. i feel like a part of my life has been snatched away. see, i feel like a lot more could be told about the characters' stories; a lot more could be said about akashi's refusal to lose, about momoi's infatuation with kuroko, about ogiwara and kuroko. but alas, it didn't get that far.

**disclaimer:** i do not own KnB

* * *

**I**

The first time was, like most first times, completely uneventful. But it was her meeting his eyes, and that has got to count for something.

It was right after the first training session of Seirin High Basketball Club, and she was considerably more tired compared to normal days. Riko left school two hours later than usual, as the boys insisted they train as much as they can.

It was six o'clock and she was alone in the bus stop. Alone until a blue haired boy sat next to her on the bench. Riko wouldn't have noticed him if it weren't for the soft creak of the seat next to her. She jumped and turned wildly to her left, and saw him.

His eyes were as blue as his hair, something she found particularly strange. He had a pale complexion, like he hadn't even seen the sun. Riko could tell he was taller than her, but was also younger. There was a noticeable youth in the set of his mouth.

He was wearing the colors of Teiko Middle School and that intrigued her. He didn't seem to be the sporty type, though. He sat straight, his posture flawless. But there was something about him that reminded her of a soft breeze. Unassuming, irrelevant.

Then in a moment wherein the world held its breath, he turned to her and raised his eyebrows. She turned hastily away, and never looked at him again until the bus arrived, until he got off the bus.

**II**

The second time was more eventful. He was already there when she arrived, reading a small book. Aside from him, there were three other people on the bus stop, and every single one had claimed a seat on the bench. She sighed and leaned against the nearest lamppost.

That was when, in the corner of her eye, she noticed a shadow moving and suddenly he was beside her, his book closed. _You can sit there,_ he said, nodding to his now vacant spot on the bench.

She hesitated for a moment, looking right at his face but not seeing anything. She stuttered, _Thank you_ and walked around him. She sat gratefully, the weight of fatigue pulling her down.

**III**

The third time was a storm, and she forgot her umbrella. There was a roof over the bench but the wind was wild and unforgiving and in a matter of minutes she's already half-soaked.

She avoided the eyes of any passerby; there was only her in the bus stop, shivering and alone. Alone until he came and placed a dark umbrella against the onslaught of rain.

_You don't have to,_ she wanted to say, but the coldness had reached her bones. She stood and they walked together away from the bench. She said, stammering because her teeth were shaking, _Thank you. Again._

He shrugged casually and replied, _You should never forget your umbrella_. She found warmth in his voice, and she sighed contentedly, as if settling down to sleep.

He handed her a white handkerchief, and she took it wordlessly, speechless at the kindness gesture of a stranger. She used it to wipe her face and her hands, not trusting her lips to say anything but _thanks._ She felt the coldness like a vice upon her, but just beneath the layers of her muscle she felt a heat that was a soft sense of joy and embarrassment.

The bus arrived too fast, and she moved toward it with a gentle, shaking brave. He followed silently, and as she sat by the window, he sat beside her. He set his umbrella down between his knees. He brought his unprecedented warmth with him, and in the guiltless cold of the bus's air conditioning, it was a comfort.

_I'm sorry I can't give you any dry clothes to borrow,_ he said suddenly, _they're all sweaty._

_Oh, no, I wouldn't have accepted it anyway,_ she said hurriedly, the skin of her cheeks burning, _You've already been too kind._ She smiled brightly, gratefully. _You have to give me a chance to repay you._

_There's no need,_ he said and she found that he meant it. Rarely had she found someone so honest in the way he was, like purity was something that occurred to him as naturally as the sun rose. That honesty would've meant less without the tranquil blueness of his eyes, but she found it pleasantly disarming nonetheless.

**IV**

The fourth time was her turn, and he was sweaty, his jacket open to a white shirt underneath. She arrived early and was already sitting on the bench when he arrived.

He sat, wiping his face with a towel. He was slightly panting. _Rough day?_ she asked, smiling.

_Training was hell,_ he said.

_Training?_

_Basketball training._

She gasped, _You're part of the Teiko Basketball Club?_

He nodded yes, smiling a little. _You know them?_

_I've heard of them. And what I've heard really makes for quite a reputation._

_They _are_ quite the team,_ he said, _they're amazing._ He said it with a hint of self-depreciation that she failed to miss.

_I bet you're amazing too,_ she said, and he turned to her fast, eyes boring into hers. The moment the words left her lips she regretted them; it was just a harmless compliment. She didn't want to sound like she was flirting or something.

But he didn't seem to take it that way, because he was looking at her like she wove the stars into the sky. _How do you know?_

She leaned away from him―from his eyes and from his voice. _W-Well, you made it to the team, right? I heard everyone there is amazing_.

_I suppose so,_ he said, sitting up straighter. She liked the way he sat, and the way he placed his elbows on his thighs; she didn't know why. _Thank you. I needed that_.

_I'd say it again in a heartbeat,_ she said it before she could think it through, and her face burned. _I mean, whenever you need it… again._ She turned away from him completely, willing the earth to swallow her whole.

She refused to look at him even as he sat beside her again on the bus, even as he got up to leave first. But she was certain that he was smiling as he left.

**V**

The fifth time was when she realized three things. One, he smelled _great_. They were sitting next to each other on the bus again. Their shoulders were brushing, and she was trying her hardest not to stare at him from her peripheral vision. It hurt her eyeballs, and it hurt her pride.

Her freaking _nose_ was straining to inhale his boyish scent; the sweat with a hint of cologne. It felt much more refreshing than her boys could ever hope to be.

How could she be reduced to this? A sniffing pedophile?

Another thing she realized was that she liked the way he stared at people curiously, as if bird-watching. This made her heart flutter. It made her jittery just imagining him looking at her like that.

The last thing was he was really starting to get under her skin in the best way. Riko heard her voice wither as she said good bye to him, and felt a shift in her chest in hearing it. She looked at the space he vacated longingly, as if staring at the plastic seat would somehow summon him.

She couldn't get him off her mind when she got home. She kept wishing she could watch him play, could see him running, could see him smile as he made a shot. She couldn't even plan her plays properly; she kept imagining how it would be to coach him, to encourage him, to tell him what to do, to make him sweat―

She slammed her head on her pillow and screamed, feeling disgusted at herself.

**VI**

The sixth time was the worst because of two things: one, she was actually anticipating his arrival. Every footstep was him walking towards their bench, every breeze was him bringing a breath of fresh air with him. This disturbed her more than she cared to admit; she had never wanted to see someone as bad as she wanted to see him.

She couldn't even sleep the night before. She hadn't seen him in weeks because training sessions took longer than expected. Seirin won its fourth game the day before, and Riko was itching to tell him every detail of it.

She had yet to tell him she was a coach of a high school basketball team; thinking it would matter more if she at least had three victories under her belt. She was practically bouncing on the bench, counting the minutes before he arrived.

Riko had his handkerchief folded neatly on her lap. She forgot to give it to him last time because she was busy trying not to look feverish. Part of the reason why she couldn't sleep was her imagining a million different scenarios of how she was going to give him his handkerchief back.

She had never felt like this before, never wanted to breathe the air around someone so badly the feeling almost choked her. That was particularly disquieting because she didn't even know his name yet.

Two, he had friends with him. There were two taller boys, but not taller than Teppei or Hyuuga―they each had funny colored hair: blue and yellow. And the salt on the wound, a very beautiful girl with the brightest pink hair and the prettiest smile. She was clinging onto him like a leech, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, she hadn't seen him smile so much.

She saw him a block away. The muscles in her chest contracted painfully, and she felt like she was being strangled, somehow. She wanted to run then, to hide and never show her face again because she was _so sure_ that she looked like a kicked puppy. But her legs turned to lead and she couldn't, for the life of her, move them.

She fished her phone out of her bag quickly, desperately, just to not look like she just had her world crumble around her. She texted Teppei, saying, _Oh God WHY WHY NOW?!_

Teppei was the only one who knew about the blue-eyed boy, and he was certainly an asset when Junpei wanted to have dinner with the team―Teppei always managed to help her escape.

Teppei called just as the blue-eyed boy and his entourage arrived at the bus stop. She jumped, startled and relieved, and flipped her phone open. _Yeah?_ Her voice had a forced casualness in it; she actually shivered as the pretty girl sat next to her, effectively building a barrier between her and the blue-eyed boy.

_What's the matter? Did something bad happen?_ Teppei sounded so worried she almost burst out laughing. _Yes,_ she said lowly. Clearing her throat, she said louder, _Can you meet me in, like, five minutes?_

_What's this about? Riko, are you okay?_

_Just meet me at Maiji's, okay, Teppei? Just do it or you get fifty laps!_ she threatened, but her voice was shaking.

_Okay, okay. See you in five. You sound like you're scared or something. You better be in one piece._

_I don't know about that,_ she thought, feeling the resounding ache in her chest get stronger. She flipped her phone shut and tried to calm her breath. All around her was the mixture of the happy voices of _his_ friends, the chime-like laugh of the girl the loudest of all. Somehow she felt like throwing up and at the same time humiliated at feeling inferior to middle schoolers. She stood up so fast she was dizzy for a few seconds, but she ignored that and bolted out of the bus stop.

Her abrupt movement threw the handkerchief off her lap and onto the road. She didn't see this as she didn't see his blue eyes trailing after her. She didn't see those eyes falter as they saw the white piece of cloth being trampled on heedlessly.


	2. Chapter 2

**title: bench creaks**

**summary: **"Sometimes when you meet someone, there's a click. I don't believe in love at first sight but I believe in that click." – Ann Aguiire, Blue Diablo [Tetsuya x Riko]

**notes: **here's the second chapter. It was supposed to be the last one but I only included the seventh through ninth here though I've finished writing tenth through twelfth. I just don't think it would fit in with the whole mood of this one. Also, I'm kind of hesitating about my ending so I'll probably change some things.

The sections are considerably longer than last chapter's but that's just because I got carried away. I hope you still like it though.

Please tell me what you think!

**disclaimer: **I do not own Kuroko no Basuke

* * *

After the sixth, she felt the inappropriateness of her outburst. And boy, did she have an outburst. When Riko met Teppei at Maiji's, she was positively ready to implode on herself. Between angry sips of milkshake, she was going on a mile a minute about what had just happened.

Under Teppei's sympathetic smile, she knew he was pretty amused. Never had Riko shown so much a speck of attention for boys before, never until that little blue eyed middle schooler, and she knew that Teppei knew this. And Teppei knew too that it was probably a mistake on his part when he said _I can't wait to meet him!_ Riko threw her _almost_ empty cup of milkshake at his dumb head.

When she finally calmed down enough to apologize for what she did and when Teppei finally felt the stickiness of vanilla leave his face, they were at a standstill. Riko was _sure_ Teppei thought that her jealousy was just her over-reacting. It wasn't like Riko and that boy were going out. They just happened to sit beside each other a total of six times, and she just happened to romanticized every single moment―that was all; nothing really worth the flushed cheeks and near-screaming voice.

But Teppei did not think it was just a case of Riko blowing things out of proportion. His coach was having a legitimate crush and he thought she was pretty spooked about realizing so. So Teppei smiled, bought her another milkshake, and listened to her _vow_ to always avoid seeing that blue eyed boy. He smiled because he knew an empty promise when he heard one.

But Riko held on fast. The seventh time did not happen till a whole two months before the current term ended.

VII

The seventh time was Riko getting home early because the team has postponed training for a day to celebrate the inauguration of Aida Kagetora's new gym, which was located near her house.

They were a rowdy crowd, and Riko cannot help but shake her head at her team's antics. Everyone turned to look at them as they passed, tall teenage boys who could not contain their voices. Riko had almost forgotten the boy―she hadn't seen him for weeks and there were more pressing concerns in her life right then; that was why she wasn't thinking about him as they made their way to the bus stop.

Riko was walking beside Teppei who was eerily quiet, and had a mysterious half smile on his face. Riko tilted her head up at him, _What are you smiling about?_

_Nothing,_ Teppei replied, not looking at her, but at the bus stop they were nearing. Riko couldn't see it for herself yet, because the both of them were at the back of their entourage, and all those tall backs of his teammates were blocking the view. But if she was in front, or if she were a little taller, she would see what Teppei was staring fondly at―a blue haired boy sitting at the bus stop, looking unassuming and irrelevant.

Riko was right, if you just happened to be passing by, you wouldn't even notice the boy. He could blend in with any crowd, even if his hair was such a startling blue. If Teppei wasn't so intent on seeing him, he probably wouldn't. If Riko could see him though, she would probably run to the opposite direction, avoiding anything to do with the blue haired boy like it was the plague.

It was quite funny, to be honest, how desperate Riko got in changing the subject whenever Teppei brought up her six time whirlwind romance. But before she pushes for another conversation topic, she would always say things like _the sixth one was a fluke, it doesn't count_ under her breath.

Teppei held on to her shoulder when finally his teammates finally broke the wall and Riko could finally lay eyes on the bus stop; he didn't want her to bolt, after all.

Not that she wanted to. Riko stood motionless for a long moment, as if in a deep trance. Her boys kept talking amongst themselves, and two of them had occupied the bench already, completely ignoring the blue eyed boy. She watched, dumbstruck, as Hyuuga tried to sit exactly where the boy was, watched as Hyuuga let out a surprised _oh_ when the boy spoke up and said, _I'm sorry, but this seat is occupied_, with the softest voice Riko had ever heard. But the boy wasn't looking at the completely shocked, completely apologetic Hyuuga. The boy was looking at her, and was it just her or was that relief in his blue eyes?

_Come on, Riko, sit down,_ Teppei urged, pushing her forward gently. There was another vacant seat. Riko had yet to break eye contact with the boy, and to a spectator such as Teppei, it looked like they had missed each other so much that if a gust of wind blew hard enough, they'd finally gain the momentum to run into each other's arms or maybe Teppei was just overthinking it all, and was just looking at it through a _she badly needs a boyfriend_ goggles.

But at any rate, the boy was looking at her like he was almost thankful that Riko arrived. Had he been waiting for her since the sixth time? _Yes, Riko, I think the sixth one counted_. The blue haired boy had a specific glow in his eyes, like he was saying _finally, finally_ wordlessly―or maybe Teppei was just such a closet romantic because if he was being honest with himself, he had been waiting for this reunion, too.

Hyuuga had already sat at the vacant spot and was switching glances between Riko and the boy with a suspicious glint in his eyes. _Do you, _he said, pointing at the two of them, _know each other?_

Riko and the boy answered _yes_ at the same time; it was serendipity, Teppei decided, as he fought to hide a triumphant grin.

_Yeah? What's his name?_ Koga asked Riko, then turned abruptly to the boy, _What's your name? How do you know our coach?_

It was serendipity alright, because at that exact same moment the bus arrived. The team completely forgot about the boy and moved like a wave towards the bus's entrance. Riko, not knowing what to do, moved along with her boys, still shell shocked by the boy's presence.

_Is this how much I've missed him?_ her mind was a mess, and she was hot and cold all over, _Is this how it feels to see someone you've missed so badly?_

The boy was standing up, moving towards her with a small, calmed smile. She found herself smiling back, easily, like it was second nature to her―exchanging smiles with this stranger; it was a warm gesture and it was funny how it felt like holding hands.

She could stay like this forever, she caught herself thinking, smiling dumbly at a boy whose name she always forgot to ask―that thought got cut off sharply when Hyuuga called her name. She moved toward him, her eyes subconsciously turning back to the boy. He gave her one last soft eyed look before choosing to sit down in front, far away from where the rest of her boys chose to sit.

She sat beside Teppei who kept giving her meaningful sidelong glances, which, in turn she chose to ignore. She couldn't look back at Teppei because of a heavy yearning to stand up and sit beside the blue eyed boy. She wanted to ask his name, his year in middle school, his favorite color, his favorite food―she wanted so badly to talk to him for she had not seen him for so long, for she wanted to apologize for leaving so suddenly the last time. But something stopped her, something she never ever wanted to name. It was a gut wrenching feeling that maybe she was overstepping her boundaries, that maybe she was reading too much into his last stare, his last smile. Maybe she was just this delusional girl latching onto the first boy that gave her the time.

So she closed her eyes instead, and tried real hard not to count the stops before the boy got off the bus.

VIII

The eighth time transpired right before a huge tragedy. (Riko liked that word: transpire. It sounded to her that something important happened) She walked alone to the bus stop for the first time in weeks, and she was feeling both giddy and anxious.

Of course, whether all this excitement would reap good results was yet to be seen, because there was always the possibility that the blue eyed boy wasn't alone. Riko resolved not to turn tail again because she was a basketball coach, for Heaven's sake! She had survived many other nerve wracking moments in her life, this was just another notch on her belt. But still, she couldn't help but make Teppei _promise_ that he'd come to her rescue if and when she needed it. He was laughing, but he agreed nonetheless.

Despite the bittersweet feeling she harbored the last time, she was still very much looking forward to meeting him again. (This confused her and elated her at the same time.)

So here she was, obsessively staring at her reflection in shop windows she passed, patting her hair in place, smoothing out her skirt. Once or twice she threw herself a disgusted grimace through the glass, unabashedly disappointed at her sudden insecurity.

But all of that suddenly meant nothing as she looked up and saw that he was alone, reading under the soft dying light of the afternoon. Riko's chest expanded ten times its size, to the point that she was positive it was going to explode. Relief was making her hard to breathe, and it was the best feeling ever.

She felt like she was moving underwater. He stood up to meet her, and did not sit until she did. He had a placid smile on his face, and Riko had a huge grin on hers. _Hey,_ she said, her voice subconsciously soft.

_Hey yourself,_ he said, _It's been a while._

_I know_, she said, and her mind suddenly flashed back to the days she couldn't stop fidgeting in her seat, couldn't stop pacing in practice. All because she was trying _not_ to think about going to the bus stop, going to him.

And just like that she forgot about those other boys, and about that pretty girl. Because just like that they were talking like the used to, like somewhere along the way one of them hit pause and it was gone now. It wasn't like they just met that year; it was like meeting an old friend somehow, and saying, _Where have you been? The spaces beside me missed you, too_.

_The boy you were with the other day… he said you were their coach. What sport do they play?_ he asked, utterly interested. Riko had to stop for a few beats there. He had asked it so suddenly; she was caught off guard.

_Basketball,_ she said, her voice small. _I coach, um, they play basketball._

_Why haven't you told me?_ he asked, obviously thrilled. She could see it in the way his eyes widened, and how he moved like a wave reaching up to the moon.

_Well… _her cheeks felt _really_ hot, and she had the sudden urge to look at herself in a mirror again. _I didn't want to sound like I'm bragging. _She laughed uneasily, trying to make sense of the fluttering in her stomach.

_You have every right to brag, in my opinion,_ he said (she felt herself grow ten inches taller at those words), _Do you compete for the InterHigh?_

_Yes, _she said, _we made it to the finals and we're fighting Kirisaki Daichi High tomorrow!_ She didn't mean to sound too excited, but her words came tumbling out like children at recess. Riko hadn't realized she was smiling so wide until her cheeks hurt.

_That is amazing!_ She loved the way he said it like _that space is space amazing, _and not like _that's amazing_. She loved how he sounded like there was nothing more _amazing_ than that.

_Thank you, _she said with an obvious effort, her voice tremulous. She wondered just how in the hell did the boy made it hard for her to talk without wanting to take a deep breath. In the most glorious way possible, talking to him felt like going underwater―talking to him felt like the sea, how you're aware of the salt on your lips, and the sand between your toes. Talking to him felt like moving against a largeness that you want to embrace.

_I'd watch you guys play but I can't skip practice for the world, _he said, _I made it to the team's first string, you know._

_Really? That's great!_ Pride swelled in her chest; she thought he was pretty good to just be _in_ Teiko's basketball club. But to make it in the first string? He must be better than she thought.

_Thanks. I've been working hard. _He smiled then, a grand, proud smile. He had indeed worked hard, Riko could tell from the way his shoulders lifted at the words he just spoke. He smiled, and that was the moment Riko knew she was in trouble.

When they said their farewells, (this time coupled with _see you! _and in his case a _good luck tomorrow!)_ Riko imagined her heart clench beautifully like a fist. She was going to see him again, she was going to talk to him again. She was going to sea again.

IX

The ninth time came when she felt like she was drowning.

The match with Kirisaki Daichi High ended with Teppei injured, and Seirin High defeated. Teppei had been admitted to the hospital, and the doctor, with her solemn, impersonal voice, told Riko that it may be a while before Teppei could play again. Teppei couldn't look at her in the eye. In fact, no one even raised their head inside that God forsaken room―no one but Riko.

Riko held the doctor's eyes and said _thank you _before marching out the door. Hyuuga followed her but before he could even catch up, Riko called over her shoulder: _I want to be alone, Hyuuga-kun_. She went home and adamantly refused to cry.

Her father came into her room and asked _What happened? Did you win?_ She just shook her head. Her father held her, and he was warm. But there was a cold space in the middle of her chest that nothing, not even her father, could fill. That was when she started to cry, but strangely, it felt obligated. Riko felt like her father was expecting her to cry, and she did. There was no sadness in her sobs, just a dry, subdued anger.

She ignored every text and call Teppei sent her, and though it killed her to do so, she felt it was a worthy punishment to feel that way.

The day after the tragedy, Riko did not call for a meeting. Inevitably, she felt like she was at fault, because she wasn't good enough to figure out how to weave around Hanamiya, the dirty player. And inevitably, because of that damning loss, she couldn't even imagine herself in the school's gym again. It would all feel intrusive somehow, because her boys had been _fantastic_ and she just wasn't.

She lingered at school for a few more hours, finally attending the Student Council meeting she always missed because of the Basketball Club. Everyone welcomed her warmly, something she appreciated a lot. The president even asked to talk to her before she left, and he expressed his sadness over the team's loss. Riko almost cried again at that moment, but it was a good thing she still had an ounce of composure left. That lasted up until that moment she arrived at the bus stop.

She made sure that she would be the first one on the bench. She wanted to collect herself before the blue eyed boy arrived. She didn't know why but Riko had the feeling that if she saw him sitting there already, she'd just collapse on her knees and cry the tears she didn't get to shed last night. By this time she didn't even care whether he had his friends with him. She had a heavy conviction that just seeing him would make her chest a little less tight.

There was no one there on the bus stop. She took in her first relieved breath since the doctor's verdict. She looked around to make sure he wasn't making his way to her yet. Riko closed her eyes and covered her face with her shaking hands. She breathed deep, and that was trembling, too. It felt like everything in her was moving. She wanted to curl into a ball because something inside her hurt, and it ached more whenever she remembered seeing Teppei's face as he fell, his strangled voice when he said that _I'm okay, I'm okay, Riko, I can still play_.

When she opened her eyes, she knew she still looked like a wreck, but there was no backing out now. The blue eyed boy was right in front of her. The first thing she noticed was the confusion in his eyes, and something intangible stabbed her when she imagined that confusion turning into pity.

_Hey, what happened?_ he said, with a voice that felt like a hand on her shoulder. She swallowed down a sob.

_Nothing, _she said, pathetically unconvincing. _Just a… just tired._ She tried to smile and it felt like betrayal.

_It doesn't look like nothing, _he sat down. Riko's ears strained for the bench's creak. _Did… did something happened at the match?_

_I… I really don't want to talk about it,_ she lied; the only thing she wanted to do _was_ talk about it, to pour everything out with words like emptying her purse. But if there was something she wanted more than that, it was to look strong even in her most weakened state. She wasn't doing a very good job apparently, because now the shaking had invaded even her words.

If he wanted to, Riko could let this almost stranger open her up and take a look for himself what was tearing her apart. If he asked again, Riko would tell this boy everything, show him everything, even her heart and the spaces he took up there.

But he didn't push her any further, and she was both thankful and disappointed.

_I understand, _he said. He extended his hand to her then― in it was a white handkerchief that was all too familiar. But that couldn't be _that_ one, right? She lost that one when―

_You dropped this last time, _he shrugged, _I forgot to give it to you the other day_.

_Oh, but that's yours! You gave it to me, remember?_

_Key word: gave. It's yours now_, he took her hand then, (her heart soared, her skin flared) and placed the white cloth in her small palm. (His hand was rough, and it dwarfed hers.) He was smiling. _Why do I always notice it when he's smiling? _she thought crazily as his heat left her hand.

She recovered no energy to argue with him, because then she _really_ needed his damned handkerchief. With him sitting beside her, his eyes devoid of pity but full of sympathy, she felt oddly free. She felt the tears before she knew they were coming. What a peculiar thing to happen; to cry without you knowing.

But she was crying, and it was a sad, quiet sobbing. And he sat beside her through it, through all the buses they missed, through the sun disappearing over the far horizon.


End file.
